College Basketball Spread Pick – #16 Penn State Nittany Lions vs #18 Iowa Hawkeyes

Hawkeyes Look to Even Up Nittany Lion Rematch

pmroczka

February 29, 2020

With this Penn State vs Iowa pick we find very little separates these two teams. This Penn State vs Iowa prediction has the Hawkeyes at -4.0. In the Big Ten, the #16 Penn State Nittany Lions (21-7 Overall, 11-6 Big Ten) are tied for second with three other teams. Included is one other nationally-ranked clubs, the #24 Michigan State Spartans, as well as the Illinois Fighting Illini and Wisconsin Badgers. The #18 Iowa Hawkeyes (19-9 Overall, 10-7 Big Ten) are sixth in the conference. They are three games behind the first=place and #9 Maryland Terrapins. The Lions are two games in back of Maryland. The game will be played on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 12:00 pm ET. The Hawkeyes will host at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA.

Penn State vs Iowa Pick – Recent Performance

On January 4, the #21 Nittany Lions beat the #23 Hawkeyes 89-86. These two teams meet for the second time this year as they head into the homestretch of the men’s college basketball season. After beating Iowa, PSU went on a three-game losing streak. After that, they won eight straight games. That winning streak came to an end on February 18 when Illinois took down the Lions 62-56. Penn State then lost their next game. Indiana beat them 68-60. The Nittany Lions last played on February 26 edging Rutgers 65-64.

After losing to PSU, Iowa was next beaten by Nebraska 76-70. The Hawkeyes them went on a five-game winning streak beating three top 25 teams. In their last eight games, they went four-and-four, and they were two-and-two versus nationally-ranked clubs. In their last two games, the Hawkeyes beat #25 Ohio State 85-76 and lost to #23 Michigan State 70-78.

Nittany Lions at Hawkeyes – Stats

Our Penn State vs Iowa pick notes that both teams are shooting in the mid-40s from the field and both are grabbing about 37 rebounds per game. Iowa is averaging three more assists per game than the Lions, while PSU is a bit better on blocks and steals.

The Hawkeyes are averaging 78.2 PPG while the Nittany Lions have been good for 75.7 PPG. Penn State is better on defense, holding teams to 67.1 PPG. Iowa is allowing opponents 72.1 PPG.

Player and Roster Assessment

One major question for Penn State is will their second-leading scorer, guard Myreon Jones, who’s missed a string of games due to injury, play? Jones, a 45.8 field goal shooter, is averaging 14.1 PPG. After Jones, there’s a major drop off at guard with three players averaging between 6.3 and 8.9 PPG. Izaiah Brockington, the guard who’s averaging 8.9 PPG, is hitting at a 46.2% rate. The frontcourt includes top scorer Lamar Stevens. Stevens, a senior, is good for 17.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG. Mike Watkins, another senior, is a major force in the paint knocking down 9.8 PPG and taking in 7.7 RPG. Watkins has a 55.0% success rate from the field.

Iowa has its injury issues also as their third-leading scorer, guard C.J. Fredrick, may not play. He’s recently missed a total of six games. Fredrick, a 49.7% shooter, is averaging 10.7 PPG and 2.6 APG. Sophomore guard Joe Wieskamp is the team’s second-top scorer averaging 14.5 PPG while taking down 6.1 RPG. In the paint, junior center Luka Garza takes command hitting 55.0% of his field goals. Garza is averaging 23.6 PPG and 9.6 RPG.

Our Penn State vs Iowa Pick

As both teams prepare to meet, each faces challenges due to injury. Iowa is helped by the fact that they’re at home. Plus, Garza is a beast. We like State’s depth upfront, but Garza is a tough force to stop. Plus, the Lions really miss Jones’ contributions. We do think that this will be a close one. However, our Penn State vs Iowa pick like the Hawkeyes at -4.0.